The Elixir Of Aphrodite
by Admiral
Summary: Commander Alenn's loss sends a young officer head over heels. [One Shot]


**DISCLAIMER:**_ Star Trek and all related characters are the property of Paramount Pictures, Inc. and CBS-Paramount Television. No copyright infringement is intended. This work of fiction is for entertainment purposes only and no money has changed hands. The original characters and events are the sole property of the author and may not be used without permission._

* * *

**THE ELIXER OF APHRODITE**

**by Darrin Colbourne**

* * *

**0917 HOURS  
FEDERATION STARSHIP SUNDOWN  
STUDYING THE GALACTIC BARRIER**

"I'll bet I know why you're here," Doctor Sandra Langkowski said as she settled into her desk chair, "and I don't know what I can do to help you."

Ensign Norma Schuller, Sundown's fledgling Ship's Counselor, had come to Sick Bay to bend the CMO's ear yet again about a problem she'd been having since she transferred aboard. Now, settled in a chair across the desk, she hit Langkowski with a pleading look. "But something has to be done, Doctor. Regulations clearly state that a Preliminary Psychological evaluation must be on file for every member of the crew."

Langkowski nodded sagely. "Yes, yes, I'm well aware of that regulation, including the part that says the Ship's Counselor and any of his or her subordinates are solely responsible for gathering the information required to make those evaluations."

Schuller groaned. "I can't complete a proper evaluation if a subject refuses to sit and talk with me!"

Langkowski smiled. "Well dear, as I am neither the Counselor nor your subordinate, I am pleased to say that that is entirely your problem."

"You're not the Counselor, but you are her friend, aren't you?"

Now the doctor laughed. "You think much too highly of our relationship. At best we're...let's see...what did my daughter say they called it in the old days?" She snapped her fingers. "Frenemies!"

Schuller looked utterly confused. "What?

"My point, Counselor, is that her only true friend aboard this ship is the Captain."

Schuller slumped in her chair. "Of course. That would be the only way she could be First Officer for two years without having an evaluation filed."

"Exactly. You aren't our first Counselor, nor are you the first to raise this particular complaint."

"Then do you think the Captain could get her to sit down with me?"

"It's unlikely. The Captain and First Officer are very loyal to each other, and Dian knows how Alenn feels about Counselors. Your pleas will probably just fall on deaf ears."

Schuller sighed and straightened up, put her palms to her face, then brushed back her long black hair. "This is impossible. Without an interview I'll have to base my evaluation on second-hand information. Records like that are almost never completely accurate and could be detrimental to Commander Alenn's career."

"I wouldn't worry about Alenn's career. Believe me, Alenn will have a job wherever Dian goes."

Schuller threw up her hands in exasperation. "But that just puts Captain Phua's career at risk! Doesn't she care?"

Langkowski shrugged. "Neither of them care. That's how close they are."

_And it's probably why they're on a Nova-class studying the Barrier of all things,_ Schuller thought, then she asked, "And you're sure you can't do anything to help me?"

Now Langkowski sighed, then she leaned forward and clasped her hands on her desk. "Sweetheart," she said, slightly peeved, "did I not just tell you that you weren't the first to lodge this complaint? Do you have any idea how many times I've tried to convince the Captain that her dear friend needs to have her head examined? I lost count last year." She leaned back and took the edge off her voice. "I won't make it an order, Counselor, but I will offer this advice: Let this one go. Draft the best evaluation you can without her input and file it."

Schuller was frowning. "Yes, Doctor."

"Can I help you with anything else?"

Schuller stood. "No, Doctor. Thank you for listening." Dejected, the ensign turned briskly and walked out of Sick Bay.

Doctor Langkowski watched her go, knowing immediately that she'd be incapable of giving it up. The young idealists never did. Then again, not every young idealist had to face Hurricane Alenn.

"I'll have your remains sent home," she whispered to Schuller's back.

* * *

**0920 HOURS**

In the Captain's Ready Room, Captain Dian Phua and Lieutenant Commander Alenn sat in the guest chairs opposite Dian's desk. Dian handed back the PADD Alenn had given her. "I'm terribly sorry..." She said to her friend.

"Thank you..." Alenn said. Her voice was weak and unsure, nothing at all like what Dian was used to hearing. Though her face was a mask, Alenn had to be suffering terribly.

"Of course you can take as much time as you need," Dian said.

At first Alenn said nothing. She sat with her head slightly bowed as if she hadn't heard. Then: "Three days. I just need three days."

"Are you sure? You can borrow a shuttle and go anywhere you'd like..."

Alenn looked at her friend and smiled. "I just need to be alone and undisturbed. My quarters will be fine, and I'm sure I'll be ready to resume my duties after three days."

Dian smiled back. "All right. You're relieved as of right now. Lt. McCann will take over your responsibilities until you let me know you're ready to return to duty.

They both stood, then they hugged closely, resting their heads on each others' shoulder. "And if you need anything at all," Dian said, "you will tell me, won't you?"

"Of course," Alenn said, "I promise, but now I just need a little time."

They broke apart and Alenn offered a final, weak smile before walking out of the Ready Room. Dian watched her until the door closed behind her. She could only guess how hard it had been for Alenn to avoid crying. With that in mind, she tapped her commbadge. "Phua to McCann."

"McCann here," the Lieutenant's voice answered.

"Report to my Ready Room. I need you to take over for Commander Alenn for a few days, and there are some things we need to discuss..."

* * *

**1647 HOURS**

Of course, Schuller couldn't let it go. It bothered her all day as she met with crew members for counseling sessions, went over contact reports and perused her predecessor's case files. She didn't want to think Alenn was a potential danger to the crew, but what else could she think without talking to the woman? It would be the only way to see for herself what kind of mental state Alenn was in.

_And it should've happened ages ago!_ She thought. _As soon as Alenn first stepped off the transporter pad, she should have met with the counselor back then! That's the way it was supposed to work!_

But not in this case, as Doctor Langkowski had said, so now Schuller was left with a big black hole in her overall crew evaluation where the First Officer's information should have been. That grated on her...which made her question her own mental state.

She had to make Alenn see reason. She tapped her commbadge. "Schuller to Commander Alenn." No response. She tried again. "Schuller to Commander Alenn." Still no response. She looked up. "Computer, locate Commander Alenn."

The computer beeped, then responded, "Commander Alenn is in her quarters."

"Then why isn't she answering my hails?"

"Her commbadge is in 'Gatekeeper' mode."

Schuller frowned. That meant her hails were being noted and Alenn would be notified of them when her 'badge was set to 'Active'...whenever that would be. "Fine. Route the hails through the Ship's speakers."

The computer beeped. "Unable to comply: The speakers in Commander Alenn's quarters have been disengaged."

"On whose authorization?"

"Captain Dian Phua."

Schuller covered her face with her palms. She remained that way for a minute contemplating her existence before she tried her commbadge again. "Ensign Schuller to Captain Phua."

This time there was an immediate response. "Phua here. What can I do for you, Ensign?"

"Captain, do you have a few minutes to see me? It's very important."

A pause, then: "I'm in Stellar Cartography. Meet me there."

"On my way. Schuller out." One more tap closed the connection. Schuller was already walking out of her quarters.

* * *

In Stellar Cartography she found the Captain sitting on the viewing platform and scrolling through the stars of the space nearby. She stopped at a cluster approximately two hundred light-years from the Barrier, tapped some controls on the platform, then lowered the platform to the deck. Schuller walked over as Dian made some notations in a PADD. By the time she was done Schuller was standing nearby, so Phua looked up and smiled at the ensign. "I'll bet I know why you're here..."

Schuller sighed. "If everybody knows my problem, why won't anybody help me?"

"Actually, Ensign, I have decided to help you. I'm going to do my best to convince Commander Alenn to start seeing you on a regular basis."

Schuller blinked. She'd been trying to find a way to convince the Captain to do exactly that. "Well...that's great! It's probably too late to see her today so if you could just get her to start tomorrow during session hours? I tried contacting her myself but the computer won't put me through..."

Phua held up a hand to stop her. "With good reason. Alenn will be in isolation for the next few days."

"Is she sick?"

"No."

"Confined to quarters?"

"She hasn't done anything, if that's what's worrying you." The Captain sighed. "It's actually the same reason I wanted her to start seeing you. Her father has died."

"Oh, I see..." Schuller said, then she shook her head and said, "No wait...I _don'__t_ see. She lost one of her parents and you confined her to quarters?!" The look she got in response prompted her to add: "Ma'am?"

"Ensign, the isolation period was her idea," Phua said, "and I understood her reasons for it, so I gave her leave and arranged for her not to be disturbed."

"But, Captain, at some point after the death of a loved one every sentient being thinks he or she can work through the emotions without help, but in reality even Vulcans need to hear 'I grieve with thee' from other people. The loss of a parent is especially trying on a person's psyche. This is a time when Commander Alenn should be surrounded by a support system of family and friends, not holed up in her quarters and shut away from the universe."

"What makes you think the isolation isn't just what Alenn needs?"

"Well, since she won't talk to me I can only make guesses about her psychological state based on the things I've read and heard...and some of those things are disturbing." She got a little closer and asked, "Did she really throw an officer out of an airlock?"

Phua didn't flinch. "Ensign Leadbottom is doing fine. I'm sure he's a credit to his new crew." She hadn't hesitated to approve his transfer when he put in for it two months prior.

"Right. Captain, it's indicators like that that worry me. The personality type it suggests doesn't hold up well in emotional isolation. I think we should..."

Phua stopped her with another raised hand. "I can see that I'll have to speak plainly. I've heard your objections, and I understand them, but the decision is made. Alenn will have the isolation period she wants, no one will disturb her, and I will talk to her about seeing you after it is over. Am I clear, Ensign?"

Schuller sighed and stood back. "Aye, Captain."

"Was there anything else?"

"No, Captain."

"Then have a good evening."

Schuller took the cue. She smiled, nodded and turned and left. Phua watched her leave, then she sighed herself before returning to her work.

* * *

**1332 HOURS**  
**TWO DAYS LATER**

Norma Schuller had made a decision several minutes ago. The force of conviction of that decision had been enough to propel her out of her quarters and all the way to the turbolift before she had her first bout of cold feet. It took a minute or two to make herself continue the mission, and the boost in conviction was enough to get her all the way to the door to Alenn's quarters. That was where she stood.

It's where she'd been standing for the past three minutes, feeling like an idiot.

_Just do it!_ One inner voice, the Voice of Conviction, yelled at her. She needs your help!

_The Captain will bust you for insubordination,_ another voice, that of Stone Cold Reason, countered, assuming you get that far. You're much lighter than Leadbottom. Alenn would have no problem hauling you to the personnel airlock.

This unfortunate bit of indecision was the culmination of more than a day of thinking about what was going on behind this door and how she might alleviate the situation. She'd finally come up with a solution, and today, with a light work schedule, she'd decided to implement it. It wasn't an elaborate solution, at least as far as getting into the quarters was concerned. All she needed to do was tell a lie. No, a half-truth really. It would get her in, and then she could see Alenn, and she could help Alenn. And maybe, after seeing her emotionally whole and healthy friend, the Captain might ignore the half-truth and the insubordination and not bust Schuller down to Crewman.

And maybe, just maybe, Alenn would be too well-adjusted to vent her into space.

_Right,_ Stone Cold Reason said, and maybe the Earth really is a giant computer monitored by mice. Go back to your quarters and wait until it's okay.

_We can't wait!_ Conviction shouted. It's irresponsible!

_In your eyes, but this is what Phua and Alenn want, and they don't care what anyone else thinks about it. If you do this, there will be consequences. Maybe not to your life, but definitely to your career._

Something in Schuller's head clicked, and Conviction said, Right...they don't care about their careers, so why do you? What's more important here?

The answer to that was obvious, and it helped her get back on mission. First, she would see what she was dealing with. She bent a little and looked at the display on the door control panel. It displayed the following:

**SECURITY PROTOCOLS FULLY ENGAGED**

It was fancy LCARS-speak for "Door locked." Okay. Just to be thorough she tried the door chime. The computer beeped and the display showed:

**VISITOR SIGNAL DISABLED**

More fancy LCARS-speak for "No doorbell," which meant - obviously - no guests. Okay. She'd done everything possible within boundaries.

Now it was time to cross a couple.

Ensign Norma Schuller looked up, cleared her throat and told her half-truth: "Computer, Medical Emergency. Disengage Security Protocols in Commander Alenn's quarters, authorization Schuller One, Bravo-6-3-6-Echo-4."

For a split-second she was worried that the Computer would refuse, but the fact was the Computer didn't know the difference between the truth, a half-truth or an outright falsehood. All it knew was at that moment an emergency had been declared and it had been given a directive related to the emergency by a fully-authorized Life Sciences Officer...and no one had thought to tell it to ignore any of those things, so it complied.

Schuller started to breathe again when the control panel beeped and displayed a new message:

**SECURITY PROTOCOLS DISENGAGED**

_Hard part's over,_ Conviction said.

_I can't look,_ Reason whined.

Schuller touched a contact on the panel and the door slid open. It was dark in Alenn's sitting room, with no light but starlight and what was coming in from the corridor. Schuller was tempted to call for the lights, but decided to work with what she had. She looked around when she caught the smell of old but not-rotten food. There were a few plates on the coffee table with half- or mostly-eaten survival rations on them. Alenn wasn't replicating actual food to eat, and didn't seem concerned about getting rid of her leavings.

Schuller walked into the room. Her first thought was to gather up the dishes and leftovers and take them to the replicator for disposal, but then she noticed Alenn's uniform, tossed haphazardly on the sofa. Her commbadge was still attached. Seeing that, Schuller sniffed at the air again. This time there was a faint undercurrent of body odor, just enough to indicate Alenn hadn't bathed this morning, and possibly not the previous day.

_Not good,_ Conviction said. She's giving herself over to grief.

Schuller gathered up the dishes. She was halfway to the replicator with them when a mournful wail shattered the silence in the quarters, followed by heavy, heartbreaking sobs. The sound was coming from the bedroom. It made Schuller hurry to complete her task. With the dishes gone, she approached the bedroom slowly and peeked in.

Alenn was kneeling on the floor by the still-made bed. If she'd slept on it at all, she hadn't bothered to get under the covers (they were rumpled but still pulled up). She was in her underwear, and it was the first time Schuller had ever seen her without her tiara nestled in her long black braids. She was leaning on the edge of the bed and crying freely, with her head buried in her arms.

Conviction couldn't stand to see her that way. Help her!

Schuller stepped inside the door and said softly, "Alenn...Commander Alenn..."

Alenn's sobbing ended in a sharp gasp and her head shot up. There was shock on her tear-streaked face. "What are you doing here?" She rasped.

Schuller had stopped in her tracks. "I came to help," she said. "You shouldn't be alone at a time like this, so I..."

The look on Alenn's face transformed to one of pure rage. She rose menacingly. "Get out!" She growled through her teeth.

Reason had a frightening vision of floating away from the ship as Schuller took a step backward. "Wait, Commander, you don't understand! I just want to..."

Alenn started toward her with her fists clenched. "GET OUT!" Now it was a roar. "GET _OUT_, DAMN YOU!"

Schuller retreated as quickly as she could without turning her back on Alenn. "Okay! Okay, I'm sorry! I'll go, just please don't..."

Alenn wasn't listening._ "GET OUT!"_ A final roar, accompanied by a fist swung in Schuller's direction. It wasn't close enough to connect, but Schuller held up her arms anyway. She managed to avoid tripping over anything as she backed all the way out of the quarters. In the corridor, she wondered idly if Alenn would let her put on a spacesuit first, but the First Officer stopped just inside the threshold, glared at Schuller for a moment, then closed the door.

Schuller closed her eyes and tried to slow her heartbeat. That didn't go at all like I planned, Conviction said.

_It went better than we deserve,_ Reason scolded. Now all we have to worry about is a court martial.

Schuller took a final calming breath and opened her eyes, then she turned and headed back to her quarters. She noticed that her cheek was wet when she got to the turbolift. She brushed the wetness with her fingertips. She hadn't been crying. Alenn's tears?

She wiped away the wetness with her hand and put it out of her mind. She had more important things to worry about.

* * *

**1600 HOURS**  
**TWO DAYS LATER**

"I relieve you, sir," McCann heard. He looked up from the PADD he was working on to see Alenn standing in front of the First Officer's seat on the Bridge. She looked well-rested and immaculate, and as commanding a presence as he expected her to be.

He stood immediately and smiled at her. "I stand relieved. Welcome back, Commander."

Alenn smiled back. "Thank you, Lieutenant."

He handed her the PADD. "I was just finishing up the watch report. There were a couple of maintenance issues with the main deflector. The Engineer's got someone on them. The Cap'n's been working in Stellar Cartography on the material flow rate aspects of the survey."

"Oh, no. You didn't let her start a science project without me, did you?"

McCann chuckled. "She said she would take the opportunity to have some fun without being chaperoned."

Alenn smirked. "Well, have Security stand by. If she really gets into it I'll need help dragging her off the observation platform." Both officers chuckled, but Alenn was only half-joking. Phua had enjoyed being a Science Officer back when more than she liked being a Captain now, and she could get lost in things like this survey without a strong Number One to remind her of her responsibilities.

_Well, I'm back now._ "Anything else?"

"The Ops officer got a complaint about the distribution of Holodeck time. Nothing serious. It's taken care of. Good to have you back, Commander." With that he left the Bridge with the rest of the Afternoon watchstanders as the Evening Watch took over.

When everyone had settled in, Alenn sat down in the First Officer's seat and got her bottom used to it again. It had only been a few days, but she found she had missed it. She smiled discreetly, then settled in and reviewed the details of McCann's watch report. She was just getting into it when her commbadge emitted the Doctor's voice. "Langkowski to Alenn."

Alenn tapped her 'badge. "Go ahead, Doctor."

"Alenn, have you seen Ensign Schuller?"

Alenn huffed. "I've had this conversation with the Captain already, Doctor, and I will make an appointment with the Counselor once I've..."

"I don't mean it that way, Alenn. I mean, do you know where she is?"

"Barring any changes to her schedule I would assume she's finishing up her appointments for the day."

"Shame on you for assuming. The fact is she canceled all her appointments for today, and seemed distracted during all her appointments yesterday...or so I'm told. And no one has seen her since dinner last night."

"And has anyone bothered to check her quarters?"

"I'm standing in front of her door right now. She's not answering."

"Stand by, Doctor." Alenn looked up. "Computer, locate Ensign Schuller."

The computer beeped and responded, "Ensign Schuller is in her quarters."

"The computer says she's in there, Doctor."

"Yes, that's what the computer told me as well...yet here we are."

Alenn scowled, but Langkowski had a point. "All right...computer, disregard the location of her commbadge and lock on to Ensign Schuller's bio-signs."

The computer searched again and said, "Ensign Schuller is on the Holodeck."

Alenn blinked at that. What had McCann said? "Doctor, go to the Holodeck and wait for me there. I'll be with you shortly. Alenn out." She tapped her commbadge and got up and walked to the Operations station. "Check your logs," she said to the Ops officer on-duty. "What was the nature of the Holodeck time dispute last watch?"

* * *

Dr. Langkowski was pacing in front of the Holodeck arch when Alenn walked up. "She's been in here since 1200 hours," Alenn said.

Langkowski's eyebrows went up. "Who?_ Schuller!?_ What could she be doing in there for four hours?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Alenn muttered. She walked toward the hatch and found it wouldn't open for her. "She reserved the deck for six hours."

"Well that's not possible...unless she's having a party..."

"She is," Alenn said as she examined the control panel on the arch. "It's a welcome back party for me."

Langkowski saw her face when she said that. "I guess 'How nice of her' would be an inappropriate thing to say?"

"It was merely what she told Lt. McCann to get him to approve the block of time," Alenn said. She pressed some contacts. "He in turn informed the Ops officer on watch, who further passed the story along to someone who wanted to reserve the deck for 1700."

"And you're sure she's not actually in there waiting to surprise you because...?"

"Because would you throw a surprise party for me and not invite the Captain? Dian is down in Stellar Cartography mooning over Barrier Gas emissions." She touched a final contact and the Holodeck hatch opened to reveal...

...the door to Alenn's quarters.

"Suspicious..." Langkowski muttered. Alenn tried to open the door, but couldn't. Security Protocols had been engaged. Alenn entered her passcode, wondering if Schuller had been smart enough not to tell the computer to just copy the real door controls.

She hadn't been. The door slid open, revealing a sitting room lit by candlelight and decorated with flowers.

"Incredible..." Langkowski breathed as they stepped inside. Along with the flowers, a buffet table was set up. "What kinds of food are these?" Langkowski asked. They smelled delicious, but she didn't recognize them.

"They're Elasian finger foods," Alenn said. "The flowers are Elasian as well." An Earth saying Dian had taught her, about "hackles" being raised on one's neck, came back to her. Now she truly understood its meaning.

As they stepped further into the sitting room, the smells of the flowers and the foods engulfing them, they heard a faint moaning coming from the bedroom that seemed to increase in intensity by the second.

"Alenn," Langkowski said, "that sounds like you. In pain or..."

Alenn was already moving. She took three strides to get to the bedroom door and stopped dead just inside. Langkowski was next to her a second later, and the Doctor gasped at the sight that greeted them.

There were two female figures on Alenn's bed, one with light coffee skin, one with peaches-and-cream complexion. Both figures were nude, surrounded by haphazardly discarded bits of Starfleet uniforms and related undergarments. The dark figure was indeed Alenn, or at least a holographic copy of same, and she was indeed the one moaning, and obviously not from pain...unless the black-haired head trapped between Holo-Alenn's thighs was engaged in rougher activity than its current position suggested.

Langkowski risked a sidelong glance at Alenn. The First Officer's countenance was decidedly grim. "Now, Alenn..."

"Computer," Alenn hissed, "Terminate and delete program! Authorization: Alenn, Alpha 444 Delta 4!"

The computer acknowledged with beeps just before Alenn's quarters and everything in them disappeared, leaving only Ensign Schuller and her clothes laying on the deck. "NOOOO!" Schuller screamed as she levered herself up. "Bring her back! Computer! Bring her back!"

"Unable to comply," The computer said. "Program is deleted."

"Prepare to..." Whatever command she was going to give was lost, because at that moment her big blue eyes locked on the real Alenn. "It's you..." Schuller said, "...it's really you! You've ended your isolation and found your way to me."

Alenn and Langkowski traded quick glances. Schuller looked giddy at the sight of Alenn.

"I tried to wait," Schuller said, "tried to be patient, but it had been so long since I'd seen you, and I missed you so much, I just had to find a way to be with you, so I came here. But I don't need the holodeck anymore. You're here, and now we can be together!" Schuller came at them at a trot with her arms outstretched, ready to wrap them around Alenn and never let go.

That made the impact of Alenn's fist in her gut all the more jarring, and Schuller doubled over just a split-second before that same fist backhanded her against her right jaw, twisting her head around and sending her back to the floor unconscious.

Alenn stared down at her for a moment, then turned to Langkowski. "Doctor, we have a problem."

Langkowski, totally deadpan, said, "Ya think?"

* * *

A few minutes later Schuller was wearing a surgical frock and sitting up on a bio-bed while Langkowski ran an instrument by her right cheek. "This will help, but your jaw will still need time to heal. Alenn did a real number on your face."

"She's so strong, isn't she?" Schuller asked dreamily. "And yet she can seem so fragile when she wants to, so sad and vulnerable."

"Right...Alenn said you broke into her quarters and found her crying. Did any of her tears get on your bare skin?"

Schuller gasped. "Her tears! It was heartbreaking to see them! Now I just want to go back in time so I can cradle her in my arms and kiss all of them away!"

"Yeah, okay...Did you kiss any of them when you were in her quarters?"

"Doctor, I'm fine! You don't have to fuss over me. Just let me go so I can find Alenn and we'll take care of each other."

"Oh, that's not gonna happen," Langkowski muttered. It didn't have to, because at that moment Alenn walked in with Captain Phua at her side.

Schuller lunged. "Alenn! Thank goodness you're here! Tell Doctor Langkowski I'm fine!"

It took both Doctor Langkowski and the nurse assisting her - a big, burly, male Andorian - to keep Schuller on the bed. "Settle down, Ensign!" Langkowski said.

"No! Damn it, why won't you let me go to Alenn?!"

"Because..." Langkowski thought fast, then said solemnly, "because the terrible ordeal Alenn has gone through has taken a toll on her body, and I invited her down here to rest and recuperate. You want Alenn to feel better, don't you?"

This did the trick. Schuller settled down and said, "Of course. I always want her to be the strong, beautiful Alenn I love."

Langkowski smiled. "Of course you do, so what you _don't_ want to do is get her all excited, right?"

Schuller shook her head emphatically. "I wouldn't want to do anything to hurt her."

"Good, that's right." Langkowski turned to Alenn and Phua. "Say, Alenn, why don't you go over to that bed waaaay over there and sit down?"

Alenn scowled at her, but then she complied, heading over to a bio-bed at the far end of the Bay and sitting down. Captain Phua sat next to her. From there they watched as Langkowski finished treating Schuller's injuries...and as Schuller kept her gaze locked on Alenn. Every now and again she smiled and waved.

"Your tears?" Phua asked.

"Undoubtedly," Alenn sighed.

"I always assumed they wouldn't work on women."

"Elasian women are immune, naturally. I don't think anyone has ever used the tears on a woman from another race. I've never heard of that, at least."

"Congratulations. Scientific First."

"Not the most auspicious discovery..."

"Alenn, why didn't you tell me that Schuller broke into your room while you were mourning?"

"It's your fault."

"_My_ fault?"

Alenn sighed. "For rubbing off on me. I didn't want Schuller to get in serious trouble for being overzealous in her duties."

Then Phua sighed. "Sure. Now you develop a soft spot." She reached out and clasped her friend's hand.

"Don't do that!" Schuller yelled. Phua and Alenn turned to find her struggling to break Langkowski and the nurse's grip again. "Don't you touch her!" Her teeth were clenched and she was staring daggers at Phua.

"Settle down!" The Nurse said. "Settle down! It's the Captain! The Captain!"

Something seemed to click in Schuller's mind. "Right," she said as she relaxed, "you're right. It's the Captain. They're friends. Just friends. They don't have what Alenn and I have."

Langkowski turned to Alenn and Phua and mouthed the word Whoa!

Chastened, Phua let go of Alenn's hand and continued. "All I meant was that if we'd known about this two days ago we'd have more time to do something about it."

"I didn't know any of my tears had gotten on her then!"

"She kept her distance?"

"I screamed at her to keep her away. I swung at her to make her retreat. Although...I'd been leaning on my arms while I was crying. A drop or two could have hit her when I swung at her..."

"But you're uncertain?"

"Dian, it was dark and there were tears in my eyes! I could barely make out Schuller's shape at the time. I couldn't possibly see tears flying!"

"All right, fine, but now I have a new problem. I can't just throw her in the brig."

"Of course you can. She's disobeyed orders on two separate occasions, filed a false Medical Emergency report and broken into a superior's quarters."

"I'm talking about her mental state, Alenn. What do you think she'll do if I put her behind a forcefield away from you?"

"She'll kill herself trying to get through the forcefield to get to me."

"Exactly. In fact, there's nothing I can do with her that would keep her from pursuing you...except give her what she wants."

There were times when Alenn hated being able to tell what Phua was thinking. "No! You can't be serious!"

"It's just until Sandra and I can figure out how to counteract the tears. It shouldn't take that long."

"It can be agonizingly long depending on your point of view!"

"Come on, where's that soft spot you admitted to having a minute ago? Ensign Schuller went above and beyond to try and help you when you were in trouble. Now she needs your help."

Alenn glared at her, then huffed, then stood up and walked over to Schuller. Schuller looked up hopefully, as if waiting for some heavenly announcement.

What Alenn said was close enough. "If you behave, and are not too...forward, you may stay with me for a while."

Schuller leaped up and put her arms around Alenn's head and pulled her in for a big, romantic kiss, which lasted until the ensign felt that fist slam into her midsection again. She pulled back, coughed, and tried to catch her breath.

Then she looked up at Alenn sheepishly. "Too forward?" She rasped.

* * *

**1418 HOURS**

Captain Phua returned to Sick Bay after escorting Alenn and Schuller to Alenn's quarters. Langkowski greeted her with news. "While you were gone I found a grand total of one incident involving a human being affected by Elasian tears in the Medical Database. Guess who? Rhymes with 'irk'."

"You're favorite whipping boy, James T. Kirk?" Phua said.

"That's right. Leave it to the consummate womanizer to succumb to the hypnotic tears of a hot extraterrestrial babe."

"An Elasian woman..."

"Not just Elasian. A Dolman, Alenn's old job."

"Well, I'm more interested in how he overcame the influence. I think the history chips would have mentioned if the Great Jim Kirk had run off and eloped with a Dolman of Elas..."

"Oh, that's the funny part. The CMO at the time chalked it up to Jimmy Boy loving his ship more. Romantic nonsense..."

"It isn't nonsense...at least not complete nonsense. Captains develop great love for their commands over time..."

"Yeah, the ones that believe in romantic nonsense."

"Sandra...!"

"All right, all right, I'm getting to it. According to the medical log, Dr. McCoy did come up with an antidote for Elasian tears. He just never used it. Here's the formula...oh..."

"What's wrong?"

"In order for it to work it has to be formulated for the physiognomy of the specific victim. I can't just replicate what's here. I have to 'tune' it to Schuller's bio-signature."

"How long will that take?"

"About a day..."

"I don't know if Alenn has the patience to wait a day."

"I'm sure she doesn't. Brilliant move, by the by, locking her up with her stalker."

"Wow...you're awfully disrespectful today..."

"How do you know my comment wasn't completely sincere? I'm absolutely sure you had no other choice...but for the record, phasers still have 'Stun' settings, right?"

"You're impossible." She looked away as Langkowski chuckled. She thought for a moment, then said, "You said McCoy never used the antidote?"

"That's what he said."

"And you think it's impossible for Kirk to have resisted the tears without it?"

"I never said that. I just question McCoy's explanation of it. Any drug can be resisted with enough will and determination, and that's what we're talking about here. But will and determination need motivation to drive them, and actually Kirk had a lot to drive him to resist." She ticked thing on her fingers. "First, he was a confirmed, girl-in-every-spaceport bachelor, and he wasn't about to give that up no matter how influential the Dolman's tears were. Second, if he didn't deliver her to Troyius as planned, we're talking interstellar incident, war, loss of a strategic planet for the Federation. Third, a screw-up that big doesn't just lose him his ship. It wins him brig time and/or permanent duty on one of the galaxy's most boring asteroids. Faced with all those negative possibilities, if I were McCoy I wouldn't have bothered looking for the stupid antidote. It would have been a waste of good chemicals. Kirk had every reason to fight and zero reasons to give in."

"So Ensign Schuller could resist if she wanted to..."

"The key word being 'if'. Remember what her pet project has been for the past four or five weeks?"

"To get Alenn to sit and talk with her."

"All the tears really did this time was amp up Schuller's desires concerning Alenn. All her motivation is driving her to pursue Alenn, and now she has what she wants."

Phua blinked. "No...she doesn't. Not really..." She started for the door. "Start working on the antidote. I think I know a way to buy you some time."

* * *

Phua wasn't sure what to expect when Alenn answered her door chime, but she certainly wasn't expecting Alenn to be holding a dagger with blood on it. Phua pointed to it. "Schuller's getting aggressive," Alenn explained.

"There's blood on it," Phua said.

"_Very_ aggressive," Alenn reiterated.

"It's only been a few minutes."

"Please tell me you've found something."

"Sandra's working on an antidote, but it will take a day to synthesize."

"I won't last a day without killing her."

"I gathered that, so I have an idea that might help Schuller build up a little resistance on her own." She explained.

Alenn's eyes were wide by the time she was done. "I'd rather let Schuller have her way with me."

"Alenn, Schuller needs a reason to not see you as a romantic interest in order to back off. This might help her...and help you in many ways."

Alenn sighed and nodded and went back inside, closing the door on Phua. As she rested the dagger on a table Schuller came out of the bedroom. She was running a dermal regenerator up and down the palm of her hand. When she saw Alenn she smiled and said with a nervous chuckle, "Boy, that knife is really sharp."

"It's good for reminding people where not to place their hands." Schuller just nodded sheepishly and finished closing the wound. When she was done, Alenn said, "Please sit down."

Schuller complied, sitting down at one end of the sofa. Alenn made a point of sitting at the opposite end. Schuller looked hurt. "You don't want to sit close?"

"No, because I...I want to talk to you...about..." Alenn looked away for a moment, then steeled herself and turned back. "I want to talk to you about my father."

A strange look came over Schuller's face. She became dizzy and had to shake her head to clear it. When she could focus again she looked in Alenn's eyes. "Captain Phua told me about his passing. I-I'm sorry. When did you find out?"

"Just before I went into isolation, but he passed away last week."

_Hold her! Damn the knife!_ Conviction howled, but Reason was making a comeback. "Were you close?"

"We were, once, but I chose not to be a treaty bride."

"You mean the treaty with Troyius? You didn't want to marry a Troyian?"

"Or anyone I didn't love. It angered my father greatly. He stripped me of my title and declared that if I wouldn't leave Elas as a bride I would leave as an exile. He didn't care where I went, so I joined Starfleet."

"You were stripped of your title...but you kept the tiara?"

Alenn touched the tiara and smirked. "Father also didn't care what I took with me."

It was taking every effort of will for Schuller to keep her seat, but she did as she said, "But you mourned for him so deeply. It's understandable. While he was alive there was hope that someday you would reconcile and have that good relationship back, but now that he's gone, you think that hope is gone as well."

"Isn't it?"

"A relationship is a mutual thing. Even if he can't put aside his anger and return to you, you can put aside yours. You've mourned for him, and that's a start, so now keep all those good memories forefront in your mind and forgive him for putting politics before your wishes. I'm sure he was sorry for it by the end."

"I'll try. Thank you."

Schuller nodded, then did the hardest thing in her life: She decided to leave. She stood up straight and said, "I apologize for causing you so much trouble, Commander. I think I'll go to my quarters and isolate myself for a while."

Alenn stood and nodded. "I'll let the Captain know. Thank you for listening."

Schuller nodded and headed for the door. In the corridor she looked away until the door closed behind her, then rushed to the turbolift, all the while muttering "She'sMyPatientShe'sMyPatient_She'sMyPatient!"_ It almost worked. She didn't start crying until she was inside.

* * *

**0930 HOURS**  
**THREE DAYS LATER**

Dr. Langkowski escorted Crewman Schuller - The Captain's mast over the things she'd done before the tears resulted in the demotion - to the Shuttle Bay entrance. "No lingering effects?"

"None from the tears," Schuller said. "I do like Commander Alenn...just not that intensely. Doctor, please try to get her to see my replacement more often."

"I'll try. No promises. You take care now."

Schuller sighed and entered the bay. A few seconds later a skinny, bookish young Ensign came out lugging a couple of duffel bags. He looked at Langkowski and said, "You're wearing a medical smock. Are you the doctor?"

Langkowski flashed him a bright smile. "I am indeed."

He smiled back. "Then I'm supposed to report to you! I'm Ensign Terwilliger. I'm here TDY as your Counselor."

Langkowski's smile faded a little as she thought, Send a child, why don't you? "Welcome aboard, Ensign. Let me tell you about your first patient."

**FINITO**


End file.
